Cooling fan
A CPU cooling fan is a dedicated fan which cools down the heatsink and eventually the CPU (Processor). Usually the CPU cooling fan comes as a part of the heatsink assembly – a metal part drawing heat from the CPU chip. In addition to the CPU cooling fan, some laptops have a dedicated GPU (graphics processing unit) fan which cools down the GPU chip.
The CPU and GPU cooling fans connect directly to the motherboard via a cable running from the fan. When CPU and GPU chips get hotter, the cooling fan spins faster.
COOLING FAN LOCATION IN A LAPTOP.
On some laptops the cooling fan can be easily accessed through a door on the bottom, as on the following Gateway laptop.
If you cannot find it on the bottom, then it’s buried inside the case, as on the following Dell laptop.
COOLING FAN RELATED PROBLEMS.
If your laptop feels very hot and shuts down without any warning, it’s possible that you have a faulty fan. Listen for the fan. Is it working? Sometimes you can see the fan through the fan grill on the bottom of the laptop. Can you see the fan spinning?
If the fan never starts, probably it is bad and has to be replaced.
When the fan bearing goes bad, the fan starts making grinding noise. In this case you’ll have to replace the fan.
If your CPU fan works hard all the time, most likely it happens because the heatsink is dirty and is clogged with dust and lint. You can clean the heatsink using compressed air.
Laptop parts | Repair Man | 
December 26, 2008 3:05 pm
September 27th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
My Acer Aspire 3690-2519 laptop cooling fan runs when the computer first boots, apparantly as a test, but then NEVER comes on again and my processor starts to cook. Obviously the fan is not the problem but rather the control circuit. Is there any way to run it all the time as the computer is almost always on AC?
Thanks,
Ed
September 26th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
sammy franklin,
I don’t think so. The laptop should start even when the battery is removed. Remove the battery and try turning it on. Does it start when the battery if removed? If not, the battery is not your problem.
You can try minimizing the system as much as you can. Remove the hard drive, optical drive, disconnect the LCD screen, etc… Leave only main components such as motherboard, memory and CPU. If the laptop still doesn’t turn on, most likely there is a problem with the motherboard as you said CPU and memory is OK.
September 26th, 2009 at 11:30 am
phuc,
Check out sparepartswarehouse.com
They offer many parts for Sony laptops. I believe they get parts directly from Sony. I bought a couple of keyboards for Sony laptops and they send very good quality parts to me.
September 25th, 2009 at 9:55 am
hi can you show me where i buy CPU Fan laptop Model PCG 3C2L drand new.tk
September 25th, 2009 at 6:44 am
ihave adynabook setalite toshiba 1800sa
model ps183n i have try to boot it it never bootup the fan never run the processor is ok memory ok the led ight well could the battery be the problem?
September 23rd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
phuc,
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:30 pm
hi can you help me buy cpu fan Sony vaio PCG – 3C2L tk. how i buy can`t you help me please.
September 8th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Boloraw,
I don’t know the part number but you can try searching on SparePartsWarehouse.com
They list parts (and part numbers) for many different Sony laptops.
If you cannot find the part you are looking for, try calling them.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I’m looking for the cooling fan for the Sony vaio PCG-3C2L (VGN-CS110E), do you happen to know the part number dor the fan only? I called Sony directly and the y told me that I have to buy the cooling fan assembly(complete with the heat sink), which I don’t need and is too expensive from them. Do you happen to know if the fan model is compatible with other models Vaio? I seem to be having trouble when I search using the model number I indicated to you. I would really appreciate your help. Thanks in advance.
July 31st, 2009 at 10:44 am
bro,
I believe the thermal module part number is 60.TG607.010
I googled for a while and found the list of all parts for an Acer Travelmate 6291/6231 laptops.
July 26th, 2009 at 9:08 am
wat is the type/model numb (or anything else) for the acer trvaelmate 6291 cooling fan??
July 16th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
robert,
Can you boot in safe mode? Press F8 when logo appears on the screen and select safe mode. Can you?
July 14th, 2009 at 9:55 am
compaq pressario pop up adjust display resolution while adjusting screen went black and fans stopped working. now boots after logo screen flashes twice and goes blank still no fans
May 26th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
KANO,
If the cooling fan works fine but the laptop still shuts down because of overheating, it’s possible that you have to replace thermal grease between the heat sink and CPU. Maybe thermal grease dried out?
May 24th, 2009 at 10:35 am
COMPAQ PRESARIO SERIES 800 MODEL: 80XL550
REPAIR MAN SAYS: If the laptop doesn’t start when it’s cold, most likely it’s not related to the cooling fan. The laptop still should turn on even if the fan failed. I think your problem is related to a different component.
Does your laptop get any power if you plug in the power adapter and push on the power button? Is it completely dead or just will not start?
KANO: HI, Laptop turn on! FAN turn on! turns off when hot! change the fan! and still failed! goes off! please help me!
May 7th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
glenn,
I think it’s normal. Right now I’m typing on a Toshiba Satellite A135 laptop and my cooling fan turn on and off about every 10 seconds. I’m in a 72 degree room.
Try cleaning the heat sink with compressed air. Maybe the heat sink is clogged with dust and cleaning it will help to keep the CPU cooler and the fan will turn on less often.
May 7th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Hi: Have a near new ACER 4420 notebook. Cooling fan comes on every 80 secs in a 61 degree room. Is that normal?? Have CPU at it’s lowest setting, power save on, and NO antivirus software at the moment.
April 28th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
KANO,
If the laptop doesn’t start when it’s cold, most likely it’s not related to the cooling fan. The laptop still should turn on even if the fan failed. I think your problem is related to a different component.
Does your laptop get any power if you plug in the power adapter and push on the power button? Is it completely dead or just will not start?
April 28th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
HI..
PLEASE HELP ME!
I HAVE A COMPAQ PRESARIO 80XL550, have problems, turned off suddenly, I BELIEVE THAT IS THE COOLING FAN. It seems is not working properly? I ALREADY Measured voltages: 5V, works with 5V and a single speed? O VOLTAGE AND MANY MORE SPEED? YELLOW CABLE FOR THAT ROLE? HOW CAN YOU MEASURE THE COOLING FAN, and test whether it works correctly?
THANKS!
April 19th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I currently use I8kfanGUI software to control my laptop fans, it says i have 2 fans. However, only 1 of them seem to be working, the other sometime on sometime off, and whenever i try to play a game that require heavy graphic one of the fan run at max speed, the other is off…Is there any way that i can control the second fan ?
If possible can you show me where the GPU fan is, on Dell Laptop?
I am using Dell Inspiron 8600.
April 17th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Mike,
The cooling fan can run at a few different speeds. Apparently the bearing is failing and the fan rattles at the highest speed.
I guess the bearing is getting worse and now the fan rattles at all speeds.
To me your description sounds like a failing bearing.
It might cause a real problem if the fan fails completely, you can fry the CPU.
April 17th, 2009 at 10:14 am
I have a Dell Inspiron 1525. When I bought the laptop back in December, a few weeks later I noticed that if the computer has alot or large programs running, the fan will begin to rattle like it is falling apart. If I turn the programs off, usually the noice subsides and it sounds like normal again. When I first had it, I recalled at times it would begin to rev up like a jet ready for take off. I haven’t heard this in a while. Now it is just the rattle. It will rattle around , then shut off I guess when it is cool again. Start up a few minutes later and rattle again. If I am just checking email or just have it running, the fan stays pretty normal sounding. I am not sure if this is something that needs to be addressed right this moment. I am pretty sure it is loose, a screw a bearing, maybe. If I am doing something that causes it to rattle, I usually try to finish what I do, but I am getting use to it and now start to ignore it , untill I have finished what I need to do on it. My question is, do you think that this is the bearing or something loose. I am sure I should replace it, and I do have warranty. I was going to just ignore the problem until it either failed , or when I get the desktop I want, then maybe send it in. I am definatley going to make use of the warranty and send it in before that runs up in december. So basically to the point. Do you think that this will cause any real problem , if I just continue to ignore it, It is running, but it makes the rattling sound. SO I am not really sure if it is adequately cooling down my system. Thank you for your time.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Jose,
Most likely there is more than one fan compatible with your laptop. Find a store selling spare pars for Acer laptops and ask them which fan is compatible with your model. They have an access to the list of spare parts and can tell which one you should use.
April 15th, 2009 at 12:28 am
My cooling fan is not working well and i already clean it but I have to change it. My problem is that here in Portugal i can’t find and I don’t know where to find one for my Acer Aspire 1691 wmli. I search on several websites but there is a lot of fan that looks like the same. Can you tell me where can i order one safely? Thanks.
March 17th, 2009 at 9:29 am
I HAVE A ECS GREEN 736 O EXCEL G736 LAPTOP ITS MAKING GRINDING NOISE ITS NOT THE HARDRIVE AND THE CPU FAN SUNON DC 5 VOLTS GM0506 CLEANED IT AND THEIR SEEMS TO BE COMING FROM SOME WHERE ELSE DOES THIS MODEL HAVE MORE FANS LIKE GPU I WAS GOING TO TRY WITH THE FAN DISCONNECTED BUT I DONT WANT TO DAMAGE THE CPU.AND DONT WANT TO TAKE LAPTOT APART TO FIND THERE IS ONLY ONE FAN.